


Red Queen - 50 Sentence Challenge #2

by shan_love



Series: Red Queen Prompt Challenges [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 1 Sentence Fiction, 50 Sentences, Angst, Blood, Challenges, Character Death, Character Study, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Humor, Original Character(s), Original Female (Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-09
Updated: 2014-03-09
Packaged: 2018-01-15 02:53:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1288519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shan_love/pseuds/shan_love
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>#06 – Rain</p><p>It’s pouring, the rain falling in seemingly relentless torrents of icy water, and, no matter how hard Regina tries to stay angry, tries to hold on to the rage that, just a few moments ago, had DEMANDED the younger woman leave, the door barely closes before she’s wrenched it open and tugged the already-soaked werewolf inside.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Queen - 50 Sentence Challenge #2

**Author's Note:**

> 50 prompt words, listed in order below, and you only get ONE sentence each. No need for chronological order but SERIOUS bonus points if they are! 
> 
> You don’t have to actually USE the prompt word but can use the SPIRIT or ESSENCE of the word instead.

#01 – Comfort

Since even the idea of receiving comfort has become a distant, faded ideal, when Ruby’s arm settles around her shaking shoulders, pulling her close until her face is buried in the crook of a pale neck, she can’t help the surprised sob that wrenches itself from her throat.

#02 – Kiss

From their first kiss, Regina knew that, whatever they were, it wasn’t True Love; but, despite everything their land led her to believe, that didn’t make it any less _magical_.

#03 – Soft

At first glance, Regina is all sharp edges and pointed corners, far more likely to cut you to pieces than anything else but, the more Ruby gets to know her, the more softness she sees; it’s in her eyes, limpid and deep, in her smile, the way it sits on parted lips, in her laugh, rich and melodious.

#04 – Pain

Ruby knows pain, both what it feels like and what it feels like to cause it, and she’s still learning (part of her thinks she’ll _always_ be learning) how to deal with it; but she knows her pain can’t compare with what Regina’s felt, what she’s _dealt_ , and, while part of her is glad she’s finally healing, there’s another part of her (she blames it on the wolf, but it’s not that simple – it’s never that simple) that wants to rage, to tear and rip and burn everyone whose ever hurt her.

#05 – Potatoes

When it comes to food, Ruby’s a meat and potatoes girl, simple – often inelegant – but hearty and full of earthy flavors; Regina, on the other hand, is classy/cultural, often experimenting with recipes the werewolf had never even heard of, yet alone _tried_.

#06 – Rain

It’s pouring, the rain falling in seemingly relentless torrents of icy water, and, no matter how hard Regina tries to stay angry, tries to hold on to the rage that, just a few moments ago, had _demanded_ the younger woman leave, the door barely closes before she’s wrenched it open and tugged the already-soaked werewolf inside.

#07 – Chocolate

She should’ve been angry, or at the very least, irritated to walk into the manor one Friday afternoon only to find both Brienne _and_ Cassandra’s faces covered in chocolate while their younger mother raced around, dividing her attention between making dinner and helping Arianna with homework, if nothing else, she was sure she shouldn’t have found it all so adorably domestic (but she did).

#08 – Happiness

For Regina, happiness has always been something unattainable, something to covet for herself and ruin for others but here, now, it’s pure and right and so very _hers_ it all but brings her to tears.

#09 – Telephone

The phone behind the counter goes off and, once again, Ruby nearly gives herself whiplash as she hurries to answer, steadfastly ignoring the various whispers and quiet laughter from the patrons as she sheepishly returns the receiver to its’ cradle; she’s glad, in a way, that Regina isn’t in labor _quite_ yet but, still, she can’t help the little shiver that races up her spine at the thought that the next call could change that.

#10 – Ears

After quietly padding inside, Ruby immediately pushes her muzzle into Regina’s lap, huffing loudly until the sorceress is unable to resist any longer and slides her fingers along silken ears, earning a contented rumble in return.

#11 - Name

Since Regina seemed so uninterested in choosing a name for the baby, they don’t; not until one night, sometime during her third trimester, when Ruby comes home early only to find her frantically pouring over their limited selection of baby books, the steno pad in her lap covered in elegant notations.

#12 - Sensual

Ruby’s fingers trace sensual patterns along the bared skin of her thighs and, despite her best attempts at indifference, she can’t deny the way her breath hitches dangerously each time those talented digits drift upwards only to swerve away at the last possible moment.

#13 - Death

Regina hasn’t left their bed – or, _gods_ , is it just her bed now? – for days; not since she arrived home from the hospital, since she left an empty room and sterile white sheets behind her, since Ruby’s eyes closed and never opened again; in some ways, it feels like, the second _her_ heart stopped beating, hers did too.

#14 - Sex

When the curse breaks, Red is shocked to find out that her ‘other half’, the infamous Ruby, had not only had sex with _Regina_ , of all people, but had done so on a fairly regular basis; it’s not until much later she realizes that, even though she _was_ surprised to learn of the ‘affair’ she was never ashamed of it.

#15 - Touch

Sex was a weapon, in their world _and_ this one – sometimes it seemed the only thing that _hadn’t_ changed with the curse – and it wasn’t until this wonderful, chaotic, _beautiful_ mess with Ruby began that she realized touching and being touched could be about more than just control.

#16 - Weakness

Cora taught her a fine lesson that night in the stables – that love was a weakness – and, for the longest time, she’d truly believed it so; it wasn’t until Ruby, with her seemingly endless supply, even despite the horrors she herself had been through, that Regina began to suspect her mother had it wrong, that love wasn’t weakness but _strength_.

#17 - Tears

Somehow managing to be quiet and all too loud at the same time, Viktor’s unintentionally ironic words, “…we did all we could but, in the end, her **heart** couldn’t take it…” wash over her unabated and her face crumbles, emerald eyes suddenly dark and unreadable behind the haze of tears.

#18 - Speed

On two feet, Ruby was fast, far faster than the average human (her Storybrooke persona afforded her a shelf full of track medals to prove it) but, on four paws she was uncatchable, nothing but a blur of silver and black fur, a flash of golden eyes and fierce white teeth.

#19 - Wind

She was like the wind, fierce and uncatchable, dangerous and unknowable, wild and free; perhaps it was the wolf’s influence that made her so or, perhaps, it was she who made the wolf; either way, it was no wonder all those in the Enchanted Forest feared the howl of the bloody red wolf.

#20 - Freedom

There’s a freedom in the wolf, in winding through the trees, the wind lapping at her ears and the grass bending beneath her paws; after experiencing it for herself, Regina can see how, even though Ruby’s circumstances are very different, she still relishes the run.

#21 - Life

For a long time, she considered herself something of a reaper, a harbinger of death; but here, now, holding their daughter in her arms, it hits her that, for the first time, she’s brought something into the world instead of taking something out of it (and it’s wonderful).

#22 - Jealousy

She hears Ruby’s laugh from her seat clear across the diner and inexplicably finds herself glaring at her menu with far more vitriol than the list of home-style dishes deserves; honestly, she’s not sure what annoys her more: that Ruby’s laughing with _Emma_ of all people or that it bothers her at all.

#23 - Hands

Her hands are beautiful - there’s no other way to say it – and it’s not just because of her long, tapering fingers or that the skin of them is almost ridiculously smooth; it’s also because they have the power to shape destines and destroy worlds, the ability to bring (or force) her to her knees, because they – without scars or blemish – still manage to show exactly who Regina was, is, and will always be.

#24 - Taste

Leaning in for a kiss, only to pull away moments later with the taste of apples on her tongue, she can’t help her contented smile as they separate, she headed for her regular shift at _Granny’s_ and Regina (after a brief stop at Storybrooke Elementary to drop off the girls) for a day chock full of mayoral duties.

#25 - Devotion

From her place on the throne, Queen Regina eyed the woman who knelt before her, diligently waiting for the command to rise, with a conflicting mixture of honest affection and royal indifference flickering in her dark gaze; the signal was given, a small wave of the hand, and Red rose to her feet in a single fluid motion.

#26 - Forever

And, despite her hearts hectic pounding in her ears, Ruby swallowed and, without a hint of wavering or hesitation, smiled wide and said: “With this ring, I thee wed,”

#27 - Blood

The ground was sodden with it, the snow around her feet a horrific slurry of scarlet-hued gore, and the _smell_ of it – liquid iron on scalding-cold ice – was nearly enough to make her wretch; it was only Regina’s arms, both of them wrapped tight around her waist, that kept her from dropping to her knees.

#28 - Sickness

Regina coughed pathetically and, when she once again tried to rise from the bed, Ruby pushed her back into place with an unyielding hand; sometimes, Regina was far too stubborn for her own good and she couldn’t help but think that, if the cold didn’t kill her, she just might.

#29 - Melody

From her place in the doorway, she listened contentedly as Regina, curled up in the rocking chair with Ari snuggled against her legs and the twins in her lap, hummed a quiet tune under her breath, the melody of which Ruby quickly realized wasn’t from this world but theirs.

#30 - Star

They paint stars across the whole of Ari’s ceiling - Ruby painstakingly mapping out actual constellations with Regina’s help - to serve as a reminder that, though she is, to them, the most important person in the universe, she is, in reality, only a very small part of something much greater.

#31 - Home

Ruby had been living at the manor for nearly two months when, one day out of the blue, after coming back from the diner and shedding her coat and mud-caked boots by the door, she started up the stairs and it suddenly hit her that this wasn’t _just_ Regina’s home anymore; it was hers too.

#32 - Confusion

Her face tilted to the side in what had to be the most adorably confused expression Regina had ever seen and, despite the gravity of the situation, it _nearly_ makes her laugh; actually, if her heart hadn’t felt like it was about to catapult itself straight out of her chest, she’s sure it would have.

#33 - Fear

Regina squeezed her eyes shut as a spike of pure, unadulterated fear shot through her veins while Ruby, her stalwart protector, cackled beside her, eyes moving from the television to her face and back again, “Oh my _god_ , Regina, the l-look on y-your f-face!”

#34 - Lightning/Thunder

A second flash of lightning, this one almost immediately followed by a booming crack of thunder, sent young Arianna scrambling from her bed and down the hall, only to throw herself through her mothers’ door and into their bed with a not-so-muffled sob of, “Mommy, momma!”

#35 - Bonds

There was so much bad blood between her and Snow White, there always would be, but, knowing the bond that lay between her and her beloved, Regina promised herself that she’d at least _try_ not to curse her rival into an early grave any time soon.

#36 – Market

After Regina’s latest not-so-subtle comment about Ruby’s (overly) flirtatious manner, the werewolf couldn’t help but chuckle as she buried her nose in the crook of her neck, pressing a kiss to the exposed skin she found there, “Stop worrying, Regina; everyone knows I’m off the market…especially _me_ ,”

#37 - Technology

Unlike everyone else in Storybrooke, Regina hadn’t been given the memories of a life upon waking in their quiet little town; thus, her first encounter with essentially every piece of ‘commonplace’ technology began a little hesitantly as her mind rushed to provide her with the appropriate applications of each gadget.

#38 - Gift

It shouldn’t be so surprising, she knows - they’d been together for nearly six months prior to this confounded holiday and dating etiquette all but _required_ an exchange of presents - nevertheless, Regina can’t _quite_ shake her shocked expression or stop the tears from forming as her gaze settles on the small box nestled in Ruby’s outstretched palm.

#39 - Smile

As someone who had grown used to almost never smiling – not genuinely, at least – it’s oddly fascinating to discover that her lover has not only _one_ smile but dozens of them, each one expertly (though unconsciously) tailored to suit seemingly any occasion; and, though they’re all beautiful, Regina’s favorite is the one Ruby reserves exclusively for her.

#40 - Innocence

There’s an innocence in their girls’ eyes Regina would do almost _anything_ to protect and she knows, almost instinctually, that Ruby would do the same; she even knows why - it’s because both of them remember how fragile it is, how easily childhood can be ripped away and colored dark, and if that’s the only thing they _fully_ protect them from, it’s enough.

#41 - Completion

There’s a feeling, one she’s not altogether familiar with, that seems to have settled itself in and around her heart without her knowledge or consent; it’s not an unpleasant sensation, this sense of wholeness, of…completion, quite the opposite, in fact – it just might be the best feeling in the world.

#42 – Clouds

The heavens above are dark and angry, the clouds threatening to burst at any moment, and Ruby can’t help but find it oddly fitting that the hostility of Storybrooke’s natural world eerily echoes that of its’ citizenry.

#43 - Sky

As the sun rises, it colors the sky a sickly shade of scarlet and the sight of it makes Red’s smirk grow even more wicked, were such a thing possible, “Look, my queen; even the sky speaks of last night’s bloody victory,”

#44 – Heaven

Regina doesn’t really believe in heaven – as a sorceress, she’s glimpsed the most intimate corners of the universe and dealt with power rivaling that of so called ‘gods’ so often it’s practically commonplace – but, if it _does_ exist, then it can’t possibly be better than this moment, here and now, with Ari stretched across her lap and Ruby merrily chasing Bree and Cassie around the yard.

#45 - Hell

Ruby’s been through hell and back again, you can see it in her eyes – they’d all see it, if they bothered to look past her jovial mask (the one you see through with so much ease) – in the darkness there but in the light too, sometimes, coloring it, shading it (sometimes, she looks _so_ much, too much, like you, and somehow it’s more frightening to realize there’s one person in this town who _does_ understand than to think about the endless mob that don’t).

#46 - Sun

Regina wakes up ‘unreasonably early’ (Ruby’s words) and is typically up for at least an hour before the werewolf manages to drag herself out of bed; the younger woman can’t wrap her brain around it, not until an unreasonably late night has her heading to bed just as her lover rises and, together, they sit and watch the sunrise.

#47 - Moon

Children of the moon, that was what her mother had called them, and, though Ruby (and Red) had looked long and hard, no other moniker struck a chord in her or rang with such unquestionable truth; it seemed she was, and would always be, a daughter of the moon.

#48 - Waves

The waves lap quietly at the shore below, the steady rhythm comforting despite being somewhat alien; she’d never seen the great waters of their land (there hadn’t been enough time _or_ interest) but here, now, with her chin perched on Regina’s shoulder and her arms wrapped loosely around her waist, she couldn’t think of anywhere she’d rather be.  

#49 - Hair

Regina sits the way she does everything else (regally), her attention on the television as it drones on about the world outside their forgotten little town, while Ruby stretches out across the length of the couch, her head in her lap, wondering why she bothers – it’s not like they’re going anywhere anytime soon – but she doesn’t question it, not while Regina’s fingers are doing wonderful things to her hair, now loose around her shoulders; everyone needs a hobby, right?

#50 – Supernova

It doesn’t really sink in, at first; she hears the words, of course, “I’m pregnant…It’s yours…Magick,” (well, she hears the highlights, at least), but, still, it doesn’t _really_ hit her until later that day, after she’s gone into work and she catches sight of Snow and her infant son from the corner of her eye and, suddenly, it all _clicks_ , exploding in her brain like a supernova: Gods help her, she’s gonna be a _mom_.


End file.
